City of Mobile Amnesty Program

Jun 27th, 2007

What is the Amnesty Program?

The Amnesty Program is an ideal opportunity for defendants who owe outstanding fines on municipal warrants to avoid jail.

Why are we doing the Amnesty Program?

To give defendants a change to have a fresh start without the threat of an arrest hanging over their heads, and collect money owed to the City of Mobile.

When will Amnesty start?

The Amnesty Program will be held July 2-31.

What type of cases will be included in the program?

Traffic cases where fines are owed;
Traffic cases where defendants need to enter a plea;
Criminal and domestic violence cases where money is owed;
Municipal Offense Tickets.

How far back do the cases go?

1993

How many defendants are included in the program?

10,000 active, plus thousands of inactive cases

What is the dollar amount owed to the City of Mobile?

$10 million is owed to the City of Mobile.

Who can qualify for the program?

Defendants who owe money for fines and court costs and have not paid them in full;

(If an arrest warrant has been issued for failing to pay a traffic ticket, defendants will not be arrested. If the warrant was issued for failing to appear in court and/ or probation violation, the defendant will be able to appear before a Municipal Court judge and discuss the case.)

What type of cases will NOT be included?

Defendants who were sentenced to perform Community Service and fail to do so;

Defendants ordered to attend DUI or Traffic School and fail to do so;

Defendants ordered to serve jail time on weekends, but fail to report to jail and serve full sentence;

Defendants ordered to pay restitution, but fail to pay the full amount;

Defendants ordered to complete Counseling or Anger Management programs, but did not fill the obligation;

Defendants who violated No Contact Orders;

Defendants who have not yet been arrested on a warrant and were never assigned a Court Date;

Defendants who have outstanding motion to revoke probation;

Defendants who have fail to timely report to their Probation Officer or fail to report for drug or alcohol monitoring.

What will defendants save by participating in the program?

Defendants can avoid being booked into the Metro Jail and having family members/friends post hefty bonds – all because they fail to pay fines and court costs.

How can defendants learn the amount of outstanding fines?

A special page will be set up on the city’s website, starting on July 2, listing each defendant’s name and offense. The web address is www.cityofmobile.org.

What if a violator’s name appears on the website, and they fail to do anything about it?

They can be arrested at any time.

Where can violators pay the outstanding fines?

Payments can be made by mailing a money order or cashier’s check (personal checks will not be accepted), made out to the City of Mobile to:

Mobile Municipal Court
2nd Floor
Government Plaza North Tower
205 Government St.
Mobile, Al 36644

District Attorney’s Recovery Unit
2nd Floor
Government Plaza North Tower
205 Government Street
Mobile, Al 36644.

Payments can also be dropped off at the following sites:

Mobile Police Headquarters
2460 Government Blvd.
Mobile, Al 36606

First Precinct
850 Virginia St.
Mobile, Al 36603

Second Precinct
3725 Airport Blvd.
Suite 197
Mobile, Al 36609

Third Precinct
2165 St. Stephens Rd.
Mobile, Al 36617

Fourth Precinct
4712 Moffett Rd.
Mobile, Al 36618

For more information, call:

251-574-5510
251-574-5514